11,652
12K
Nov 29, 2004
11/04
by
Santa Inferno
audio
eye 11,652
favorite 8
comment 3
From the opening exhortation of "Let me hear those drums, motherfucker!" Santa Inferno's sophomore release for Imaginary Albums unleashes an unrelenting torrent of teeth-achingly memorable melodies, ass-shakingly irresistable rhythms, and heart-palpitatingly wonderful weirdness. Where Wonderland of Smut was, for lack of a more evocative categorization, a pop album breathtaking in its variety, Desert Music is a rock album whose energy, exuberance, and raw beauty leave you gasping for...
favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 3 reviews )
Topics: Acoustic, Alt. Rock, Folk/Rock, Grunge, Hard Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Rock & Roll, Emo,...
45,436
45K
Jan 24, 2005
01/05
by
The Harvey Girls
audio
eye 45,436
favorite 7
comment 3
On their debut imaginary album, The Harvey Girls weave sweetly delicate melodies into hauntingly evocative soundscapes, creating a seamless fusion of pop and sonic experimentation that is both as lovely and foreboding -- in a word, sublime -- as the sight of a watery, lemon-tea sun being swallowed by an ominous black thundercloud. Or, as a friend of mine and instant admirer of theirs put it: "Sounds like they probably shouldn't need anyone's help finding a real label. How did you get mixed...
favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 3 reviews )
Topics: Alternative, Pop, Electropop, Indierock, Indie-Pop, Noise Pop
27,288
27K
Oct 12, 2004
10/04
by
Tiny Creatures
audio
eye 27,288
favorite 9
comment 2
Twenty-six adjectives describing tiny creatures: Delicate, bizarre, cute, vulnerable, tough, ingenious, whimsical, mechanical, spontaneous, quick, primal, weird, hungry, careful, scaly, dangerous, soothing, confusing, grim, inventive, fascinating, efficient, gentle, harsh, strange, smart. Listening to Tiny Creatures is like listening to an intelligent ant colony expatiate upon predicate calculus, Harlequin romances, sour gum balls, the infield fly rule, Ikea furniture, Debussy, and Encyclopedia...
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 2 reviews )
Topics: Indie, Lo-Fi, Experimental, Weirdomusic, Psychedelic Rock
5,773
5.8K
Apr 8, 2004
04/04
by
C.J. Pizarro
audio
eye 5,773
favorite 0
comment 1
There are two legitimate stances that one can take in the face of a world that is cruel, stupid, and absurd: the Lachrymose and the Laughing. C.J. Pizarro's Snow Crabs is a risible, boisterous, and endlessly inventive avant hip-pop album that shamelessly adopts the latter. Pizarro's exuberance and creativity boil over into bizarre lyrics, lavishly haunting production, picaresque style-hopping, gorgeous melodicism, goofy characterization -- even the madman burbling of acapella orgasm. Despite...
( 1 reviews )
Topics: Avantgarde, Hip-Hop, Rap, Trip-Hop, Experimental, Electropop, Poptronica, Eclectic
Source: imaginaryalbums.com
10,435
10K
Apr 8, 2004
04/04
by
Santa Inferno
audio
eye 10,435
favorite 1
comment 1
What's astounding about Santa Inferno's debut is that not only is every song unique, each one is a pop masterpiece. This is a band that refuses to take the road most traveled, but does not renounce harmony and melody for mere outlandishness. They deftly circumvent pigeonholing, marrying that tireless inventiveness to unrelentingly contagious songwriting. Here is a group possessed by the muse but not at her mercy; drunk with their own power yet never corrupted by it. From "Christina,"...
( 1 reviews )
Topics: Cult, Disco, Folk/Rock, Indie, Pop, Poptronica
1,487
1.5K
Dec 8, 2006
12/06
by
Blasting Trout Overbite
audio
eye 1,487
favorite 2
comment 0
Adjectives won't do. Yes is a chaotic, silly, slipshod, caterwauling, kooky, devious, frenetic, pulsating, fun album. Start with "My Invisible Head Brain" and see if you can stay seated -- or keep your mouth shut. The still-trepidatious will move on to "Ambrosian Wine" and, I predict, be utterly won over by the seemingly random hard-core blurtings of "Flying buttress! Flying buttress!" If Blasting Trout Overbite don't make you smile, you don't know how to smile.
1,807
1.8K
Dec 8, 2006
12/06
by
Hubre
audio
eye 1,807
favorite 0
comment 0
Mike Huber's thrumming riffs and lackadaisical vocal style are indescribably compelling and instantly memorable. You'll find yourself tapping your toes, if not more substantial parts of your anatomy. Start with "Saturday," "Flaming Club," or the itch-scratchingly lovely "Lovely Day."
1,844
1.8K
Jan 24, 2005
01/05
by
Procrustes
audio
eye 1,844
favorite 2
comment 0
An electro-symphony by Craig Boyko.
9,049
9.0K
Apr 7, 2004
04/04
by
Swain
audio
eye 9,049
favorite 1
comment 1
Matt Shimmer of Indieville was overheard saying that "For the most part, Swain is pretty successful with The Single! While these songs can become a bit tiresome (hey, there's twelve of them!), many electronica listeners will be able to find a lot to like in them! The only problem is the presence of numerous extraneous tracks, including the directionless closer, "Synapsis," and the rhythmically challenged "Dross"! These are completely unnecessary, given some of the...
( 1 reviews )
Topics: IDM, Experimental, Electropop, Indie-tronica, Abstract, Broken Beats
7,944
7.9K
May 1, 2004
05/04
by
Corpus Callosum
audio
eye 7,944
favorite 3
comment 0
Uniquity might be the soundtrack to a horror film about a man, bristling with EEG electrode pads, setting out into the murky underworld of his own unconscious to murder his multiple personalities. Or it could be the musicking of a child, fallen down into a well, playing contentedly with her Radio Shack toys while the adults overhead fret and scurry about purposefully. Or possibly it's the sonic wallpaper of the doorless oubliette into which Danaë was thrust; but the fickle Zeus makes the...
Topics: Avantgarde, Electronic, Indie-tronica, Abstract, Eclectic, Dark Ambient, Artronica
709
709
Dec 8, 2006
12/06
by
The History and Civilization of the Great Black Swamp
audio
eye 709
favorite 0
comment 0
It's not altogether surprising that The History and Civilization of the Great Black Swamp's Men features a cover (track 4) of a Muppets tune: Men is a delightfully ramshackle and boisterous affair that sounds quite as though it could have been recorded with cardboard instruments by manic, floppy-armed, storytelling puppets. In other words: pure ludic genius.
7,471
7.5K
Apr 7, 2004
04/04
by
Laura Palmer
audio
eye 7,471
favorite 1
comment 3
Still Life is an instrumental album that weaves together lugubrious melodies and otherworldly sound effects. Soft guitars parry with electronic mutterings like slumber with the alarm clock; tuneful bleats of distortion rouse the bric-a-brac beats from their reverie; wistful half-heard organs rise and fade as fragments of environmental ambience flop and trawl like the unconscious ocean lapping at the mind's shore.
favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 3 reviews )
Topics: Alternative, Electronic, Instrumental Pop, Electropop, Indie-tronica
Source: imaginaryalbums.com
3,983
4.0K
Jul 28, 2004
07/04
by
C.J. Pizarro
audio
eye 3,983
favorite 5
comment 1
In the Half Japanese documentary, The Band That Would Be King, Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller lamented the fact that no music had been able to surprise him since he'd first heard Elvis as a child (though Half Japanese, he conceded, came close). He obviously hadn't heard Tits of America. With more surprise!s than the most popular girl's surprise birthday party, this 21-minute epic careens through styles, genres, melodies, and sonic experimentation like a hunted animal scurrying through the...
favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 1 reviews )
Topics: Alternative, Avantgarde, Electronic, Folk/Rock, Indie, Pop, Beyond Classification
1,030
1.0K
Apr 30, 2006
04/06
by
Cookie Jar
audio
eye 1,030
favorite 1
comment 0
"The Science of Jinx" is an imaginary album by hip pop mastermind Cookie Jar, a.k.a. C.J. Pizarro.
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